Road-guide



S. L. GAYLE.

ROAD GUIDE.

APPLICATION m5 OCT. 15, 1919.

1,344,268. Patented June 22, 1920.

iii i 7 W Jamaal I. Gayle 3&1 ,/1/ V UNITED STATES.

PATENT omce.

RdAD-GUiDE.

Application filed October 15, 1919. Serial No. 330,872.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, SAMUELL. GAYLE, a citizen" of the United States, residing at liZ-askerville, in the county of Mecklenburg and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Road- (iuidcs, of which the following is a specification.

The purpose of this invention is to provide a guide for aiding travelers in finding their way on roads and highways. The invention, while useful in suburban districts, is particularly desirable for use in sparsely settled regions where it may be in-' convenient or impossible to make inquiry as to the routes at the intersecting points of roads. The invention comprises a post adapted to be set up at some convenient point adjacent the intersecting point of two or more roads and having means for supporting one or more rotatable directionindicating members, which project horizontally from the post parallel with the road ways, each of said members being provided with a plurality of signs or panels angu larly displaced from one another about the axis of the member. These signs bear legends indicating the distance to various points on the road, andby rotating the member about its horizontal axis, the traveler may read all of the signs and learn the direction and, distance of the place to which he desires to go.

In the accompanying drawing, which illustrates the invention,

Figure 1 is a perspective view. showing the road guide arranged at the intersecting point of two roads and fitted with two directionindi.cating members;

Fig. 2 is a top plan View of the road guide shown in Fig. 1;

F ig. 3 is a central sectional view through the cap of the guide post, showing also a portion of one of the direction indicators; and,

Fig. l is a perspective view, on a small scale, showing a modified form of direction indicator.

Referring to the drawing, 1 indicates a post adapted to be set into the ground and to stand vertically, at the intersecting point of two or more roadways, and the top of the post is provided with a metal cap 2, which carries one or more direction and distance indicating members a. As shown,the

cap has a central depression 2, and a plurality of openings 2 extend radially outward through the body of the cap from said depression. In the drawing, six equidistant openings are shown. These openings form bearings for the spindles 3 of the distance indicating members a, which spindles are free to rotate in the bearings and are held in position by suitable means, such as the shoulders 3 on the spindles and washers 4: and cotter pins 5.

Each direction indicator comprises the spindle 3 and a plurality of vanes 6, radiating from the spindle, as shown in Fig. 1. these vanes bearing legends indicating dis tances to various points from the intersecting point of the roadways at which the post is planted.

The manner of setting up the guide is clearly shown in Fig. 1, one of the direction indicators being arranged parallel with the roadway 7, and the other being arranged parallel with the roadway 8. Thus, each indicator points in the direction of one of the roads and each vane on the indicator gves the distance on that road to some villaqe, town, or other point. The traveler arriving at the road crossing or intersecting point, by turning the indicators about their axes may read all of the signs and thus determine his route. By having a plurality of openings or bearings in the cap on the post and by having the spindles on the indicating members adapted to fit interchangeably in such bearings, it is possible to arrange on the post an indicator for each of a number of roads having a common meeting point.

The distance indicating signs or panels in Figs. 1 and 2 are shown in the form of radial vanes; but the legends indicating distance to various points may be placed. upon the outer wall of a tubular body 9, either fixed to or rotatable upon a spindle 3, so that said body may be turned to bring the various legends into view.

Vhat I claim is:'

1. In a road guide, a post, a cap on said post and having a plurality of radial openings at various angular positions about its circumference, and a direction indicating member comprising a spindle, adapted to fit rotatably within any of said openings, and distance indicating signs carried by said spindle and arranged in various posirotatably within any of said openings and vanes radiating from said spindle and beam 10 ing distance indicating legends said legends adapted to be brought successively into View upon rotation of the spindle.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

SAMUEL L. GAYLE. 

